Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-04-19


For the benefit and information of pur-
chasers of school lands, will you kindly
publish the accompanying characteristic
and eminently appropriate letter from
Hon. r. NJ. Hall, Commissioner Of the
General Land Office?
That you and your readers interested in
the subject treated of may understand
ard appreciate the Importance of the
information contained in this letter,
l will explain the circumstances which
called it forth. The eigth section of the
act of April u, 1888, providing for the
sale, lease, etc, of lands belonging to
the common school fnnd, provided that
the proposed purchaser of land, CLASH
fed as agricultural. shall file aH affidavit
! that he intends that it shall be actually
! settled within six months. And it further
provides that the money, $50 of appraised
value, snail be forfeited in case of
/ failure TO settle within that time. The
/ State Land Board Created by said act of
/ April -, 1888, and charged with the sale
/ of these lands under the prOyisions) de-
! Clared on December 8, 1885, by "resolu-
| ton No. 49," which was amendatory of
"UesOlutiOn No. Is Of this board"
among other things, that applicants to
purchase as actual settlers, must
''settle upon and improve the
land within ninety avs
from date of awards by the board,' ETC.,
and that a failure to comply with this and
other provisions of the resolution, "shsll
work forfeiture of all money paid on
and all claims to the said land without
judicial proceedings" The oath pre-
=,
bodied in the form for duplication and
obligation to purchase as An actual set
tier" These blank "applica-
tions" were generously and
grstuitOusly furnished by the board. l
send you one. In the early part of the
year l had fled with the Land Board
number of applications for persons pur-
posing to settle in Carson and other Pan
handle counties, and had paid for them
the first installment of the appraised
value. These applications were doubtless
made in good faith, and the pro-
posed purchasers evidently desired
| to secure homes. But it soon became
apparent to them that in consequence of
the prOtreCted drouth, failure of crops,
secretly of water and other causes, they
could not possibly comply with the thirty
! days provisions Of "Resolution No.
49," and in this emergency wrote
! to myself and others, asking if they could
get an extension of time to enable
them TO save their purchases. l applied
! to Commissioner Hall, who is now
charged, under the new law, with the
management and sale of these lands to
| be informed whether he intended to en-
force the provisions of the law, act Of
| April u, 1888, or the State Land Board
resolutions and regulations. His reply
is short, sharp and decisive. The set
tiers, who propose to make homes for
their families on the school lands pur-
chased from the state, will
understand and appreciate his timely dec
laratiOn that "where the law gives such
claimants rights which the Land Board
| by resolutions has attempted to limit, the
law and not the resolutions will be fol-
| lowed" and they will hold it in grateful
remembrance. Respectfully,
RHOADs FISHER.
The following is the section referred to ::
GENERAL land OFFICE,
AUSTIN, TEX April I, 1887.
| Major Rhoads Fisher, Austin, Texas
DEAR SIR-In reply to your Inquiry, |
can only state that, so far as my official
action is concerned, the law, as embraced
in the act of April y, 1888, will be looked
to in determining the right of claimants
| Of land under its provisions, and where
the law gives such claimants rights which
the land board, ~ resolutions, have at
tempted to limit, the law and not the
| resolutions, will be followed. Yours re-
speotfully, L NJ. HALuF
! Commissioner.